Objective To explore the clinical characteristics and treatment scheme of patients with spinal infection caused by Prevotella intermedia(P.intermedia).Methods Clinical diagnosis and treatment processes of a patient with spinal infection caused by P.intermedia admitted to the spinal surgery department of a hospital were summa-rized,and relevant literature was retrieved from database for reviewing.Results The patient,a 50 year old male,was admitted to the hospital due to"lumbago pain complicated with pain in double lower extremities for 2 months".The lesion tissue was taken for metagenomic next-generation sequencing(mNGS)detection,which detected P.in-termedia,and the patient was diagnosed with P.intermedia spondylitis.After treatments with open lesion clea-rance,tube rinsing+autologous bone transplantation fusion internal fixation,intravenous drip of ceftriaxone sodium and metronidazole,as well as metronidazole rinsing,infection was under control.A total of 16 available papers were retrieved,together with this case,a total of 17 patients were included,with 7 males and 10 females.The main risk factors were diabetes and history of corticosteroid use(35.3％).The most common invasion sites were lumbar ver-tebra(n=12)and thoracic vertebra(n=6).13 cases were positive for pathogen culture,3 cases were positive for molecular detection,and 1 case was positive for staining microscopy.17 patients received anti-anaerobic bacteria treatment,with 14 cases receiving combined surgical treatment.One case died,with a mortality of 5.9％;5 cases had partial neurological impairment,with a disability rate of 29.4％.The survival rate of patients who received treatment of anti-anaerobic bacteria combined with surgery was 92.8％,3 patients only with anti-anaerobic bacteria treatment but without surgery were all cured.Conclusion P.intermedia is an opportunistic pathogeanic bacteria which often causes infection in immunocomprised individuals and is prone to be misdiagnosed.It is recommended to perform mNGS detection to identify the pathogen as early as possible and seize the opportunity for treatment to reduce mortality.

Pyroptosis is a form of lytic programmed cell death executed by a family of pore-forming proteins named gasdermin (GSDM). Pyroptosis plays crucial roles in host defense against pathogen infection and eliminating abnormal and harmful cells, while excessive pyroptosis causes inflammatory diseases including cytokine storm and septic shock. Mammalian GSDMs, except for pejvakin (PJVK), adopt an autoinhibited two-domain architecture, in which the N-terminal cytotoxic domain (GSDM-N) is restrained in an inactive state by the intramolecular interaction with the C-terminal inhibitory domain (GSDM-C). These two-domain proteins are activated by upstream protease cleavage within the interdomain linkers. The unleashed GSDM-N binds to acidic phospholipids in the cytoplasmic leaf of plasma membranes and undergoes dramatic conformational changes and oligomerization, then assembling into transmembrane pores for pyroptosis induction. GSDM pores lead to membrane rupture, cell swelling, and cytosol release, thereby mobilizing proinflammatory responses. GSDMs are evolutionarily conserved and have been discovered across all kingdoms of life, including bacteria, fungi, invertebrates such as cnidarians and mollusks, and all vertebrates. Proteolytic cleavage to liberate the pore-forming activity of GSDM-N appears to be a universal mechanism for most GSDMs activation, despite low sequence homology among the GSDMs from diverse species. However, recent studies discover that there exist noncanonical GSDMs lack of functional C-terminal inhibitory domains in some lower eukaryotic species. These noncanonical GSDMs are activated by unprecedent mechanisms independent of proteolytic cleavage. TrichoGSDM, present in the basal metazoan Trichoplax adhaerens, is a pore-forming domain-only protein and exists as a disulfides-linked autoinhibited dimer. Reduction of the disulfides by the conserved cytoplasmic antioxidant system, including glutathione (GSH) and thioredoxin (Trx), generates pore-forming active monomers capable of inducing lytic cell death. In filamentous fungus Neurospora crassa, polymorphic regulator of cell death-1 (rcd-1) encodes two GSDM-like proteins RCD-1-1 and RCD-1-2 in incompatible haplostrains, which trigger pyroptosis-like cell death in nonself discrimination (allorecognition) upon encountering during somatic cell fusion. RCD-1-1 and RCD-1-2 are both monomers and structurally similar to mammalian GSDM-N domains, lacking autoinhibitory fragments. They alone could bind acidic phospholipids, and associate with cell membrane in a resting state. Coexistence of RCD-1-1 and RCD-1-2 leads to formation of RCD-1-1/RCD-1-2 heterodimers through molecular mating, which further oligomerize into membrane-inserted pores, causing rapid lytic cell death. These findings reveal mechanistic diversities in GSDM activation and indicate versatile functions of GSDMs. Due to the highly proinflammatory nature of pyroptosis, the pore-forming activities of GSDMs have been illustrated to be precisely regulated at multiple levels. GSDMD transcription and expression is characterized to be induced by interferon regulatory factors 2 (IRF2). mRNA alternative splicing of GSDMB generates various isoforms, some of which exhibit potent pore-forming activity whereas the others bear none. Additionally, different types of post-translational modifications have been identified on GSDMs, playing distinct regulatory roles. For examples, itaconation of GSDMD, succinylation of GSDMD and GSDME, and phosphorylation of GSDMA, GSDMD and GSDME, negatively regulate GSDM pore formation, thereby inhibiting pyroptosis. Conversely, palmitoylation of GSDMD and GSDME, and ubiquitination of GSDMD promote the pore-forming activities and pyroptosis. Moreover, some proteases can cleave within the GSDM-N domains to block their pore-forming activities. On the other hand, bacterial pathogens evolve specific effectors to hijack host pyroptotic defense pathway through targeting upstream caspases, GSDMs or plasma membrane phospholipids. Given the crucial roles of GSDMD in immune defense and pathological inflammation, a few small-molecule inhibitors have been found to directly inhibit GSDMD activity. Since the identification of GSDMs as the executioners of pyroptosis, the GSDM family has attracted broad attention in immunology researches. Significant progress has been made to greatly advance our knowledge about how GSDMs action, and what are the immunological functions of pyroptosis. Investigations of GSDM-targeting therapies are emerging as a promising translational direction. In this paper, we review recent progress in the field of pyroptosis researches, with focus on various molecular mechanisms underlying GSDMs activation and regulation. The biological implication and future direction of pyroptosis research are also discussed.

Objective:To establish a matrix assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) assay for the identification of common Salmonella serotypes and provide etiology evidence for the early precise treatment of salmonellosis. Methods:A total of 500 strains were collected from different regions and sources and five predominant Salmonella serotypes ( Salmonella Typhi , Salmonella Paratyphi A , Salmonella Typhimurium , Salmonella Enteritidis , and Salmonella Indiana) of each strain was identified by agglutination test and whole-genome sequencing. The protein complex of the strains was extracted by using optimized pretreatment method to establish the fingerprint database of peptides for each Salmonella serotype. The new serotyping assays were established by using different modules based on the mass spectra database. Additional 155 strains with specified serotypes and variant sources were used to test and evaluate the accuracy of the new typing assays. Results:Five MALDI-TOF MS databases were established, and two new serotyping assays were established via peptide fingerprint mapping/matching and machine learning of the neuronal convolutional network respectively based on the databases. The results showed that the fingerprint matching approach could quickly identify five common Salmonella serotypes in clinical practice compared with the machine learning method, the accuracy of fingerprint matching assay to identify five Salmonella serotypes reached 100.00% and the serotyping can be conducted within a short time (15-20 minutes) and had a good reproducibility, while the machine learning method could not completely identify these serotypes. Moreover the sensitivity and specificity of fingerprint matching assay were all 100.00% respectively, while they were only 82.23% and 95.81% for machine learning method. Conclusion:The established Salmonella serotyping assay based on MALDI-TOF MS in this study can easily, rapidly and accurately identify different serotypes of Salmonella.

Digital intraoral scanning is a hot topic in the field of oral digital technology.In recent years,digital intra-oral scanning has gradually become the mainstream technology in orthodontics,prosthodontics,and implant dentistry.The precision of digital intraoral scanning and the accuracy and stitching of data collection are the keys to the success of the impression.However,the operators are less familiar with the intraoral scanning characteristics,imaging process-ing,operator scanning method,oral tissue specificity of the scanned object,and restoration design.Thus far,no unified standard and consensus on digital intraoral scanning technology has been achieved at home or abroad.To deal with the problems encountered in oral scanning and improve the quality of digital scanning,we collected common expert opin-ions and sought to expound the causes of scanning errors and countermeasures by summarizing the existing evidence.We also describe the scanning strategies under different oral impression requirements.The expert consensus is that due to various factors affecting the accuracy of digital intraoral scanning and the reproducibility of scanned images,adopting the correct scanning trajectory can shorten clinical operation time and improve scanning accuracy.The scanning trajec-tories mainly include the E-shaped,segmented,and S-shaped methods.When performing fixed denture restoration,it is recommended to first scan the abutment and adjacent teeth.When performing fixed denture restoration,it is recommend-ed to scan the abutment and adjacent teeth first.Then the cavity in the abutment area is excavated.Lastly,the cavity gap was scanned after completing the abutment preparation.This method not only meets clinical needs but also achieves the most reliable accuracy.When performing full denture restoration in edentulous jaws,setting markers on the mucosal tissue at the bottom of the alveolar ridge,simultaneously capturing images of the vestibular area,using different types of scanning paths such as Z-shaped,S-shaped,buccal-palatal and palatal-buccal pathways,segmented scanning of dental arches,and other strategies can reduce scanning errors and improve image stitching and overlap.For implant restora-tion,when a single crown restoration is supported by implants and a small span upper structure restoration,it is recom-mended to first pre-scan the required dental arch.Then the cavity in the abutment area is excavated.Lastly,scanning the cavity gap after installing the implant scanning rod.When repairing a bone level implant crown,an improved indi-rect scanning method can be used.The scanning process includes three steps:First,the temporary restoration,adjacent teeth,and gingival tissue in the mouth are scanned;second,the entire dental arch is scanned after installing a standard scanning rod on the implant;and third,the temporary restoration outside the mouth is scanned to obtain the three-di-mensional shape of the gingival contour of the implant neck,thereby increasing the stability of soft tissue scanning around the implant and improving scanning restoration.For dental implant fixed bridge repair with missing teeth,the mobility of the mucosa increases the difficulty of scanning,making it difficult for scanners to distinguish scanning rods of the same shape and size,which can easily cause image stacking errors.Higher accuracy of digital implant impres-sions can be achieved by changing the geometric shape of the scanning rods to change the optical curvature radius.The consensus confirms that as the range of scanned dental arches and the number of data concatenations increases,the scanning accuracy decreases accordingly,especially when performing full mouth implant restoration impressions.The difficulty of image stitching processing can easily be increased by the presence of unstable and uneven mucosal mor-phology inside the mouth and the lack of relatively obvious and fixed reference objects,which results in insufficient ac-curacy.When designing restorations of this type,it is advisable to carefully choose digital intraoral scanning methods to obtain model data.It is not recommended to use digital impressions when there are more than five missing teeth.

Patients with severe trauma require an extremely timely treatment and transfusion plays an irreplaceable role in the emergency treatment of such patients. An increasing number of evidence-based medicinal evidences and clinical practices suggest that patients with severe traumatic bleeding benefit from early transfusion of low-titer group O whole blood or hemostatic resuscitation with red blood cells, plasma and platelet of a balanced ratio. However, the current domestic mode of blood supply cannot fully meet the requirements of timely and effective blood transfusion for emergency treatment of patients with severe trauma in clinical practice. In order to solve the key problems in blood supply and blood transfusion strategies for emergency treatment of severe trauma, Branch of Clinical Transfusion Medicine of Chinese Medical Association, Group for Trauma Emergency Care and Multiple Injuries of Trauma Branch of Chinese Medical Association, Young Scholar Group of Disaster Medicine Branch of Chinese Medical Association organized domestic experts of blood transfusion medicine and trauma treatment to jointly formulate Chinese expert consensus on blood support mode and blood transfusion strategies for emergency treatment of severe trauma patients ( version 2024). Based on the evidence-based medical evidence and Delphi method of expert consultation and voting, 10 recommendations were put forward from two aspects of blood support mode and transfusion strategies, aiming to provide a reference for transfusion resuscitation in the emergency treatment of severe trauma and further improve the success rate of treatment of patients with severe trauma.

Objective:To analyze the impact of muscle mass reduction on the prognosis of patients and to observe the differences in prognosis among patients with different types of tumors affected by muscle mass reduction.Method:Tumor patients with available muscle mass data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey,NHANES(NHANES)database(1999～2006 and 2011～2018)were selected as study subjects.Patients were divided into a muscle mass reduction group and a non-muscle mass reduction group based on differences measured by Dual-energy X-ray Absorptiometry(DXA).A Cox regression multivariate analysis was conducted to evaluate the impact of muscle mass reduction on the prognosis of tumor patients,and a subgroup analysis was performed based on different tumor locations to analyze the differences in overall survival(OS)and cancer-specific survival(CSS)associated with muscle mass reduction.Result:A total of 1 663 tumor patients were included in the study,comprising 64 with head and neck tumors,478 with skin tumors,237 with breast tumors,39 with lung tumors,138 with digestive system tumors,253 with urological system tumors,264 with gynecological tumors,64 with hematological system tumors,and 103 with tumors in other locations.There were 517 patients in the muscle mass reduction group and 1,146 in the non-muscle mass reduction group.Patients in the muscle mass reduction group showed significantly lower OS and CSS compared to the non-muscle mass reduction group(OS,HR=1.358;CSS,HR=2.109).Muscle mass reduction was significantly associated with OS in head and neck tumor patients(HR=4.060)and both OS and CSS were significantly worse in urinary system tumor patients in the muscle mass reduction group(OS,HR=1.625;CSS,HR=2.311),whereas no significant differences were observed in other tumors.Conclusion:Tumor patients with muscle mass reduction have significantly worse OS and CSS compared to those with normal muscle mass,and the prognosis varies across different tumor sites.Special attention should be given to muscle mass status in patients with head and neck tumors and urinary system tumors,with timely interventions as needed.

Objective To explore the risk factors associated with cow's milk protein allergy(CMPA)in infants.Methods This study was a multicenter prospective nested case-control study conducted in seven medical centers in Beijing,China.Infants aged 0-12 months were included,with 200 cases of CMPA infants and 799 control infants without CMPA.Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to investigate the risk factors for the occurrence of CMPA.Results Univariate logistic regression analysis showed that preterm birth,low birth weight,birth from the first pregnancy,firstborn,spring birth,summer birth,mixed/artificial feeding,and parental history of allergic diseases were associated with an increased risk of CMPA in infants(P＜0.05).Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that firstborn(OR=1.89,95％CI:1.14-3.13),spring birth(OR=3.42,95％CI:1.70-6.58),summer birth(OR=2.29,95％CI:1.22-4.27),mixed/artificial feeding(OR=1.57,95％CI:1.10-2.26),parental history of allergies(OR=2.13,95％CI:1.51-3.02),and both parents having allergies(OR=3.15,95％CI:1.78-5.56)were risk factors for CMPA in infants(P＜0.05).Conclusions Firstborn,spring birth,summer birth,mixed/artificial feeding,and a family history of allergies are associated with an increased risk of CMPA in infants.[Chinese Journal of Contemporary Pediatrics,2024,26(3):230-235]

Objective To explore the evidence,urinary biomarkers,and partial mechanisms of hypercoagulability in the pathogenesis of IgA vasculitis(IgAV).Methods Differential expression of proteins in the urine of 10 healthy children and 10 children with IgAV was screened using high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry,followed by Reactome pathway analysis.Protein-protein interaction(PPI)network analysis was conducted using STRING and Cytoscape software.In the validation cohort,15 healthy children and 25 children with IgAV were included,and the expression levels of differential urinary proteins were verified using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.Results A total of 772 differential proteins were identified between the IgAV group and the control group,with 768 upregulated and 4 downregulated.Reactome pathway enrichment results showed that neutrophil degranulation,platelet activation,and hemostasis pathways were involved in the pathogenesis of IgAV.Among the differential proteins,macrophage migration inhibitory factor(MIF)played a significant role in neutrophil degranulation and hemostasis,while thrombin was a key protein in platelet activation and hemostasis pathways.PPI analysis indicated that thrombin directly interacted with several proteins involved in inflammatory responses,and these interactions involved MIF.Validation results showed that compared to healthy children,children with IgAV had significantly higher urine thrombin/creatinine and urine MIF/creatinine levels(P<0.05).Conclusions Thrombin contributes to the pathogenesis of IgAV through interactions with inflammatory factors.Urinary thrombin and MIF can serve as biomarkers reflecting the hypercoagulable and inflammatory states in children with IgAV.

Objective:To investigate the clinical characteristics of choledocholithiasis com-bined with periampullary diverticulum and influencing factor for difficult cannulation of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP).Methods:The retrospective case-control study was conducted. The clinical data of 1 920 patients who underwent ERCP for choledocholithiasis in 15 medical centers, including the First Hospital of Lanzhou University, et al, from July 2015 to December 2017 were collected. There were 915 males and 1 005 females, aged (63±16)years. Of 1 920 patients, there were 228 cases with periampullary diverticulum and 1 692 cases without periampullary diverticulum. Observation indicators: (1) clinical characteristics of patients with choledocholithiasis; (2) intraoperative and postoperative situations of patients undergoing ERCP for choledocholithiasis; (3) influencing factor analysis for difficult cannulation in patients undergoing ERCP for choledocholithiasis. Measurement data with normal distribution were represented as Mean±SD, and comparison between groups was conducted using the independent sample t test. Measurement data with skewed distribution were represented as M(range) or M( Q1, Q3), and com-parison between groups was conducted using the Wilcoxon rank sum test. Count data were described as absolute numbers or percentages, and comparison between groups was conducted using the chi-square test or Fisher exact probability. The Logistic regression model was used for univariate and multivariate analyses. Results:(1) Clinical characteristics of patients with choledocholithiasis. Age, body mass index, cases with complications as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diameter of common bile duct, cases with diameter of common bile duct as <8 mm, 8?12 mm, >12 mm, diameter of stone, cases with number of stones as single and multiple were (69±12)years, (23.3±3.0)kg/m 2, 16, (14±4)mm, 11, 95, 122, (12±4)mm, 89, 139 in patients with choledocholithiasis combined with periampullary diverticulum, versus (62±16)years, (23.8±2.8)kg/m 2, 67, (12±4)mm, 159, 892, 641, (10±4)mm, 817, 875 in patients with choledocholithiasis not combined with periampullary diver-ticulum, showing significant differences in the above indicators between the two groups ( t=?7.55, 2.45, χ2=4.54, t=?4.92, Z=4.66, t=?7.31, χ2=6.90, P<0.05). (2) Intraoperative and postoperative situations of patients undergoing ERCP for choledocholithiasis. The balloon expansion diameter, cases with intraoperative bleeding, cases with hemorrhage management of submucosal injection, hemostatic clip, spray hemostasis, electrocoagulation hemostasis and other treatment, cases with endoscopic plastic stent placement, cases with endoscopic nasal bile duct drainage, cases with mechanical lithotripsy, cases with stone complete clearing, cases with difficult cannulation, cases with delayed intubation, cases undergoing >5 times of cannulation attempts, cannulation time, X-ray exposure time, operation time were 10.0(range, 8.5?12.0)mm, 56, 6, 5, 43, 1, 1, 52, 177, 67, 201, 74, 38, 74, (7.4±3.1)minutes, (6±3)minutes, (46±19)minutes in patients with choledocholithiasis combined with periampullary diverticulum, versus 9.0(range, 8.0?11.0)mm, 243, 35, 14, 109, 73, 12, 230, 1 457, 167, 1 565, 395, 171, 395, (6.6±2.9)minutes, (6±5)minutes, (41±17)minutes in patients with choledocholithiasis not combined with periampullary diverticulum, showing significant differences in the above indicators between the two groups ( Z=6.31, χ2=15.90, 26.02, 13.61, 11.40, 71.51, 5.12, 9.04, 8.92, 9.04, t=?3.89, 2.67, ?3.61, P<0.05). (3) Influencing factor analysis for difficult cannulation in patients undergoing ERCP for choledocholithiasis. Results of multivariate analysis showed total bilirubin >30 umol/L, number of stones >1, combined with periampullary diverticulum were indepen-dent risk factors for difficult cannulation in patients with periampullary diverticulum who underwent ERCP for choledocholithiasis ( odds ratio=1.31, 1.48, 1.44, 95% confidence interval as 1.06?1.61, 1.20?1.84, 1.06?1.95, P<0.05). Results of further analysis showed that, of 1 920 patients undergoing ERCP for choledocholithiasis, the incidence of postoperative pancreatitis was 17.271%(81/469) and 8.132%(118/1 451) in the 469 cases with difficult cannulation and 1 451 cases without difficult cannula-tion, respectively, showing a significant difference between them ( χ2=31.86, P<0.05). In the 1 692 patients with choledocholithiasis not combined with periampullary diverticulum, the incidence of postopera-tive pancreatitis was 17.722%(70/395) and 8.250%(107/1 297) in 395 cases with difficult cannula-tion and 1 297 cases without difficult cannulation, respectively, showing a significant difference between them ( χ2=29.00, P<0.05). In the 228 patients with choledocholithiasis combined with peri-ampullary diverticulum, the incidence of postoperative pancreatitis was 14.865%(11/74) and 7.143%(11/154) in 74 cases with difficult cannulation and 154 cases without difficult cannulation, respectively, showing no significant difference between them ( χ2=3.42, P>0.05). Conclusions:Compared with patients with choledocholithiasis not combined with periampullary divertioulum, periampullary divertioulum often occurs in choledocholithiasis patients of elderly and low body mass index. The proportion of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is high in choledocholithiasis patients with periampullary diverticulum, and the diameter of stone is large, the number of stone is more in these patients. Combined with periampullary diverticulum will increase the difficult of cannulation and the ratio of patient with mechanical lithotripsy, and reduce the ratio of patient with stone complete clearing without increasing postoperative complications of choledocholithiasis patients undergoing ERCP. Total bilirubin >30 μmol/L, number of stones >1, combined with periampullary diverticulum are independent risk factors for difficult cannulation in patients of periampullary diverticulum who underwent ERCP for choledocholithiasis.

Bone defects caused by different causes such as trauma, severe bone infection and other factors are common in clinic and difficult to treat. Usually, bone substitutes are required for repair. Current bone grafting materials used clinically include autologous bones, allogeneic bones, xenografts, and synthetic materials, etc. Other than autologous bones, the major hurdles of rest bone grafts have various degrees of poor biological activity and lack of active ingredients to provide osteogenic impetus. Bone marrow contains various components such as stem cells and bioactive factors, which are contributive to osteogenesis. In response, the technique of bone marrow enrichment, based on the efficient utilization of components within bone marrow, has been risen, aiming to extract osteogenic cells and factors from bone marrow of patients and incorporate them into 3D scaffolds for fabricating bone grafts with high osteoinductivity. However, the scientific guidance and application specification are lacked with regard to the clinical scope, approach, safety and effectiveness. In this context, under the organization of Chinese Orthopedic Association, the Expert consensus for the clinical application of autologous bone marrow enrichment technique for bone repair ( version 2023) is formulated based on the evidence-based medicine. The consensus covers the topics of the characteristics, range of application, safety and application notes of the technique of autologous bone marrow enrichment and proposes corresponding recommendations, hoping to provide better guidance for clinical practice of the technique.